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NCBA VP Says 'WOTUS' Top Concern For Beef Producers And Urges Congress To Act On 'COOL

Government regulations have become a top concern of the cattle industry, as the Obama Administration has published many regulations that could impact producers. This includes everything from the nation’s dietary guidelines to fresh beef imports from South America to the “Clean Water Rule” that will be implemented at the end of August. Craig Uden of Elwood, Nebraska is the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President. He is a cattle feeder and a rancher. Speaking at the recent Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association annual convention, he said his top concern is the “Clean Water Rule”. He said NCBA continues to ask the Environmental Protection Agency to go back and revisit the regulation.
 
 
“Anytime you formulate a law without rules, you’re asking for issues,” Uden said.
 
 
As a feedlot owner, his operation is considered a Confined Animal Feeding Operation or “CAFO”. Uden said it is a great challenge to operate your facility under regulations that change periodically. He said this final Clean Water Rule is a big intrusion that leaves room for interpretation.
 
 
The cattle industry also continues to watch for action on the nation’s COOL law. Uden is hopeful Congress can address COOL before retaliation sets in from Canada and Mexico. He said both countries are ready to file tariffs on U.S. products totaling $3 billion dollars. Uden said some believe the U.S. will have to work to trade beef and other products somewhere else, but that will be big task as Canada and Mexico represent 30 percent of U.S. beef exports. If the U.S. had to consume that amount of beef that could have a huge impact on the market and could derail growth of the nation’ cattle industry.
 
 
On the Federation side of the NCBA, the organization has shifted its marketing efforts from traditional advertising to an all-digital advertising campaign. Uden said that wasn’t an easy change for cattle producers to get behind in abandoning traditional advertising. At the time of transition, he was the chairman of the Federation and he said that move to digital advertising was a step out of the box. In working with the millennial generation, he has found that nine out of ten of them will go to the internet to get their information. 
 
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